Pentagon strategy calls for proxies to fight war on terror The Washington Times | 23 January 2018> The Defense Department’s long-awaited National Defense Strategy rolled out last week calls for the Pentagon to increase its reliance on local forces, possibly backed by a significant private contractor force, to tamp down extremists in hot spots such as Syria, Libya and the Philippines.

KNH to hire additional private security after rape claims The Star | 22 January 2018> Kenyatta National Hospital has approved the addition of more private security guards after sexual assault claims by patients. The approval was done by the board on Monday who urged the police to boost security at the hospital to avert such incidences.

Putin's Secret Armies Waged War in Syria - Where will they fight next? Newsweek | 17 January 2018> The use of mercenaries is illegal under Russian law. But since at least the 1990s, Moscow has used them as deniable proxies for its military interventions abroad. In Bosnia and in the breakaway Moldovan province of Transnistria, teams of “volunteers” secretly backed by the Russian military went into battle—while Moscow’s real troops officially acted as neutral peacekeepers. Over the past four years, however, President Vladimir Putin has dramatically ramped up the use of private military contractors as a crucial part of his foreign policy, using them to extend Russian power in eastern Ukraine and Syria.

Security contracts for Transbay Transit Center approved ahead of opening Military Times | 16 January 2018> Marine Brig. Gen. James F. Glynn, who heads special operations in Iraq for Operation Inherent Resolve, and who briefed reporters Tuesday on the state of operations in Iraq, said he was not aware of the increase in contractors. Glynn also did not know whether the number of contractors in Iraq has increased to make up for a cut in U.S. force presence, nor did he provide how many U.S. forces are in the country now.

Russian-trained mercenaries back Bosnia's Serb separatists The Guardian | 12 January 2018> Russian-trained mercenaries are helping to establish a paramilitary unit serving the Serb separatist leader in Bosnia, it was reported in Sarajevo on Friday. The report on the Žurnal news site, which was confirmed by the Bosnian security minister, comes at a time of mounting western anxiety about Russian efforts to destabilise the Balkans and resist Nato enlargement in the region.

Dakota Access Private Security Firm Set for October Trial U.S. News | 09 January 2018> A private security firm hired by the developer of the Dakota Access pipeline will on go trial in the fall for allegedly operating in North Dakota without a license. North Dakota's Private Investigative and Security Board sued North Carolina-based TigerSwan last June. Court documents show a five-day trial has been scheduled beginning Oct. 8.

Trump threats won’t change US-Pak dynamic The Asian Age | 07 January 2018> For one, the U.S. remains heavily involved in Afghanistan: NATO, largely the U.S., has around 16,000 troops still based in Afghanistan. The number of private military contractors is usually a multiple.

Putin's Goals in Syria Went Beyond Saving Assad Bloomberg | 04 January 2018> Something Gerasimov doesn't say is that Russia also tested a private military company based in southern Russia, Wagner, which provided critical ground support to Assad's forces and, according to independent research, bore the brunt of the losses. The mercenaries weren't invited to the Kremlin to receive medals for Syria, but they are a mainstay of Russia's modern military strategy and a big help in deflecting the political fallout that usually comes with military casualties.

South Africa: Bail Bids Reveal Underworld Tentacles Dig Deep and Stretch Across SA Border All Africa | 04 January 2018> During Veroni's bail application, Sergeant Edward Edwardes, who is involved in police investigations of the underworld, testified that TSG was at the forefront of taking over nightclub security operations from a more established grouping. He had testified that many of TSG's security guards were not registered with the Private Security Industry Regulatory Authority (Psira).

Equatorial Guinea declares it has thwarted a ‘coup’ Business Day | 03 January 2018> In a statement read on public radio, security minister Nicolas Obama Nchama said: "Mercenaries ... were recruited by Equatorial Guinean militants from certain radical opposition parties with the support of certain powers." The plot had been prevented thanks to an operation carried out "in collaboration with the Cameroon security services".

Private Soldiers Are Increasingly Fighting Russia’s Battles in Syria and Beyond World Politics Review | 03 January 2018> Thousands of Russian private military contractors are reportedly fighting in Syria, and there are increasing reports about such contractors being killed in action. Despite a Russian ban on the use of mercenaries, Moscow has turned to private military contractors as part of its assertive foreign policy.

Putin's final presidential campaign will be banking on military victories in Syria and Crimea The National | 02 January 2018> For Russian voters, therefore, what has happened in Syria is a victory. The military aims have been fulfilled – albeit at a heavy, brutal price for ordinary Syrians and with the virtual destruction of large parts of Aleppo – and the human costs to Russia's troops have been manageable. Officially 16 soldiers died in Syria last year, a number that, when the private military contractors the Kremlin is using are factored in, is thought to be many times higher.

Authorities Declare 'Private Security Zone' in 30 Places in Eastern Turkey NRT | 01 January 2018> Turkish authorities announced ‘private security zone” in 30 places in the province of Tunceli eastern Turkey due to military operations. Tunceli governorate said in a statement on Sunday (December 31) that the center of the city and four districts including 25 areas and villages in the province would be affected by the “private security zone” for 15 days, Yeni Safak reported.